Tag Archives: origins

In case you didn’t know it, we are working on a series called The Conflict of the Ages. It now has two installments:. The Scientific History of Origins, and The Origin of Evil in the World that Was. These are designed for homeschoolers who want a better grasp of the essentials of world history from a scientific and authoritative point of view. These books fulfill state education requirements for a well-rounded historical and scientific study. They include ancient sources outside the Bible that echo the truths of literal creation and what the world was like in ancient times. They merge History and Science, and later will include Literature studies as well. References and supplementary information for further study comprise more than half of each book. When we first published these, our main concern was to keep them affordable, so we priced Teacher and Student editions at 99 cents. We have, however, gotten feedback suggesting we “up our game” by adding better organizational structure and illustrations to improve the reader’s experience. The additional material increased the file size and the 99 cent minimum price was no longer an option. We know that economic times are not improving and many families are struggling to pay for homeschool curriculum as it is. But we hope you will consider the “added value” of better organization and illustrations, and consider adding these works to your homeschool curriculum. We’d love to have homeschoolers give this series a try, and to give us your feedback. It’s designed to be in easily manageable modules, between 100-200 pages of main text each, and has Student and Teacher editions, with answer keys and teacher helps included.

These upgraded versions are available now on Smashwords, and should be ready in a few hours on Amazon.

AiG (Answers in Genesis) has a webpage listing arguments Christians should not use because they are already disproved, weak, or there is not enough evidence.http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers/topic/arguments-we-dont-use
Secular Humanists should make a similar list of arguments (reasoned positions, not heated debates) used against creationism which are already disproved, weak or lack evidence. The AiG list contains 29 separate arguments. If a Secularist would make a similar kind of list for fellow Secularists, it would be a much larger list.
Secularists routinely call me ignorant, uneducated (I have an earned M.A.), opposed to science, and many other things I will not repeat. While these statements are libel, I could honestly and legitimately make some of those charges about some of them. Instead, I will simply use the word silly. It is silly to repeat a thoroughly refuted argument. It is silly to be so uninformed that you do not understand the beliefs of someone you are attacking.

Since these people will likely just ignore any list I make of their own silliness, I will make a very brief list of what we believe. First, when we examine evidence, we understand that physical evidence requires several assumptions. First, that the physical “laws”, as science has chosen to call them, are constant. Just one example; a thermometer will always register the same temperature, assuming that the conditions are the same. Second, we understand that our knowledge is limited. No one has ever taken a core sample of the planet Jupiter. Nor is there a firm scientific definition of the word “breed” in animal husbandry. Third, it is not scientifically possible to dismiss the supernatural as not existing, since the supernatural cannot be measured with scientific instruments. A humorous examination of these problems is found in the illustrated book Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay.

These are some of the reasons why courts use witness testimony as the most reliable testimony. That does not mean that witness testimony should be accepted without question. Motives must be examined. The history of the witness (character) must be examined. The circumstances must be examined and witnesses compared. Also, physical (circumstantial) evidence, if it is strong enough, can overrule witness testimony.

We have examined the evidence and concluded that the Bible is the Word of God. (The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell.) Ancient written testimony on origins outside of the Word of God needs to be examined carefully, but is the next most reliable source of information. Even preschoolers know enough to ask “Were you there?” Physical evidence is open to interpretation and though it can be helpful, it is less reliable than written records outside of the Word of God.
“And God said to the angel of the presence: “Write for Moses from the beginning of creation till My sanctuary has been built among them for all eternity.” Book of Jubilees I:27
“And the angel of the presence spake to Moses according to the word of the Lord, saying: Write the complete history of the creation, how in six days the Lord God finished all His works and all that He created.” II:1

The Book of Jubilees has twenty-one copies among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some Christians, such as the Coptic Church, believe that the Book of Jubilees is part of the Word of God. The first six days of creation, God was working, that is, inputting energy and matter. The laws of physics as we know them were not in place yet.
The original creation was the space/time continuum, as general relativity puts it, and matter. The original matter was all water. The earth was created out of water and by water. (2 Peter 3:5) or, as Genesis 1:1 puts it, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The Mayan book Written Leaves or the Popol Vuh says of the original creation “in the day and year of the clouds.” Berossus said about the original creation, “For the whole universe consisting of moisture…” A Polynesian creation myth says “In Whai-tua two existences without shape were formed: Maku (moisture), a male, and Mahora-nui-a-rangi (Great Expanse of Heaven), a female…”

Light was created on the first day, so there was no problem with plants. While plants need light, they are not required to have sunlight. Even without that light, plants were created on Day Three and the sun on Day Four. Less than twenty-four hours without sunlight is not a problem. People who claim that there is some problem are displaying their ignorance.

When the land was created, it was created out of water. This original creation of land had no life forms. Today we see the original creation of land as the lowest layers of sediment without fossils.

The entire universe, including sun, moon, planets, stars and all other celestial objects, were put in place on the fourth day. The photons of light allowing us to see them were put in place at the same time, allowing them to be visible the creatures on earth to see them.

All organisms were created by the end of the sixth day. The information about Adam and Eve in Chapter Two of Genesis provides additional complementary information, similar to several reporters writing accurately about the same story. Adam’s body was formed out of existing material directly by God. Adam was then was given life by God. Like Adam, Eve’s body was formed out of existing material. Even today, rib tissue can regenerate. The discussion between the serpent and Eve was neither an allegory nor a fairy tale, but a historical record. To reject the historical record of the Fall means there is no need for an atonement for sin. There is no need for a virgin-born sinless atoning sacrifice.

Adam, all creatures, plants, and the universe were created fully-formed and, by the end of Day Six, fully functional. We do not know if these trees had rings. Nor do we know if any of them survived the flood.

Water came up from the earth, watered the garden (park) of Eden, then split into four parts to water the earth. Geysers and hot springs are found all over the world. Perhaps the Garden of Eden was similar to Yellowstone Park today, with Yellowstone Lake and Yellowstone River.

For 1656 years the climate was, by our standards, mild and constant. This is what uniformitarians see in the fossil record and call the Devonian Period. There is much disagreement about the exact differences during the Antediluvian period compared to today, but we know that the huge creatures of this period, dragonflies with 52″ wingspans. and flying creatures with 45′ wingspans, could not fly today. The largest creatures of this period probably could not even walk today. It was a time of lush vegetation.

There is disagreement about a catastrophe with many changes sometime in the middle of the Antediluvian period. Numerous written documents claim that there was, but Bible does not say anything about such a catastrophe.

The four rivers coming out of Eden watered the earth. That made Eden the highest or at least one of the highest points on the single continent of the Antediluvian world. It also means that because the environment of Eden was comfortable for nudity, there were no high mountains like we have today. In the year 1656 AM, God sent a catastrophic flood which destroyed all land life on earth.

According to every document which records the flood, including the Bible, it was a series of different events. The original creation laid down solid material. This was followed by 1656 years of gentle deposits. The first weeks of the flood included violent volcanic activity, putting massive amounts of volcanic material into the oceans. This created many different layers of sediment on top of the original creation layers and the Antediluvian layers. Tectonic plate movements caused uplifts, bending and twisting the layers that followed these. This caused more volcanic activity, creating more layers of sediment.

This catastrophe also invalidates all dating methods, because all known dating methods rely on uniformitarian assumptions. The actual conditions during the flood are unknown. The original created conditions are unknown.

Noah did not open the doors to the ark and release the animals until the vegetation returned. Up to this point God had not given men permission to eat animals, so this return of vegetation was the food supply. Lifespans were shorter, which is another indication of changes.

The Ice Age began because of oceans warmed by volcanic activity and volcanic dust blocking the sun and cooling the atmosphere. Because of the water trapped in the ice, lower ocean levels allowed to men and animals to walk over the most of the earth. The experience of the ark also gave men shipbuilding skills.

At some point, hundreds of years later, the Ice Age ended and the earth stabilized. It is so sad that men today believe that by looking at the earth and the existing conditions on earth that they can understand the past. They ignore both the written records of the past and material evidence which contradicts what they choose to believe.